Getting it Out of Your System
by Oh-no-she-di'ent
Summary: Illness happens and leads to a whole lotta LL quality time. Pre-hookup, S4, Rated M, and Complete.


_**Disclaimer**_: --Right hand on the Bible, left hand in the air-- I have no intentions of committing copyright infringement. I'm not claiming anything over hurr.

How many times has an LL sick fic been done? Probably too many to count huh? I honestly don't know. But vakan asked for it in a review, and I've been thinking about it. Now, I have to get mine out here. Isn't it funny how authors think the topic isn't exhausted until they get their version out? Gosh, I hate that. Ahem....so, anywho, here's **my **version ;-). Vakan also mentioned drama so I'm thinking she may have meant like a serious illness, but I don't want to go that route. I can't take but so much sadness with these 2. Honey, I hope you don't mind me just taking part of your idea. Feeling humdrum, so I'll just stick with the humdrum. The flu. Thrilling, right? It's the season for the flu, so just view this as a reminder to get your shots, Readers. This is going to take place in S4. No Jason, No Nicole. Luke and Lorelai are just 2 single friends. The rating is M, so um, they probaby won't stay that way. Hope you guys don't mind. The story is complete. Enjoy it! : )

**Getting it Out of Your System**

_"Achoo!"_

"Gesundheit."

_"Achoo!"_

"Gesundheit again."

_"Achoo! Achoo!"_

Lorelai leaned on the diner's countertop with her forearms. "Now, you're just being greedy," she said plainly to Luke.

Luke's face remained buried in the flannel that covered his bicep. Finally sure that the sneezing had come to an end, he sniffed and removed his arm. "I hate that word," he said.

"What word? Gesundheit?" Lorelai asked. He nodded. "Why do you hate it? It means _bless you_, Damian."

"Well, then, say _bless you_. People that don't know a lick of German walk around saying _Gesundheit_ like it comes natural. If I came back with a German _thank you_, you'd look at me like I had five heads."

"Probably because getting blessed and coming back with _'uh German thank you'_ is a little weird."

He appeared irked. "I wouldn't say the German part. I would say _thank you _**in **German."

Lorelai looked excited. "You know German?!"

"No, I meant _if _I happ--" He stopped and glared at her, taking in her broad smile. "You know what you're doing, don't you?"

"I love to see your neck vein pop," she admitted happily.

Luke started to speak but ended up sneezing again. He barely had time to bury his face in his arm that time. Lorelai grimaced. That's the face Luke saw when he looked back at her.

"What?" he asked gruffly as he cleared a few empty mugs from the counter.

She glanced from the mugs to him. His cheeks and nose were red and looked painful.

"You're sick, Luke."

He placed the mugs in a large grey tub to take to the kitchen. "No, I'm not. It's allergies. Taylor and his stupid..." He waved his hand around while looking outdoors "...flowers," he ended.

Lorelai smirked. "You're blaming Taylor for the seasons now?"

"You have no idea the amount of things I blame Taylor for."

She shook her head, amused. "This isn't allergies. It's the real thing." He sneezed again. "Bless you."

"Thanks."

"You probably shouldn't be in a diner serving food." She looked around at the other customers. They went about business as normal. She brought her attention back to Luke and leaned in. "It's a little gross," she added quietly.

He narrowed his puffy eyes. "I'm gross now?" he asked in offense.

She sat back up and sighed. "Serving food while you're sick is."

He sniffed. "I'm not sick. I'm fine. I told you that."

Caesar came from the kitchen carrying three large plates of food loaded with grease. Burgers, fries, chicken tenders, heavily buttered bread, etc. He passed in front of Luke on his way to the dining area. "Excuse me," he said. Luke stepped back, his eyes on the plates that Caesar was carrying. He followed them with his eyes, and as soon as he had passed, he looked up at Lorelai.

She was looking at him. Her eyes went narrow. "What's wrong?" she asked.

His nose flared, and his breathing became labored. He looked off to the side and brought his hand to his stomach. Seconds passed. Finally, he closed his eyes and took a large breath. Like nothing happened, he moved back to the counter and started clearing dishes again.

Lorelai held her hands up in question. She appeared stupefied. "What the hell was that?"

"It was nothing."

"Jesus, you were about to puke!" she exclaimed quietly.

"Lorelai, please."

"Allergies? Are you _kidding _me?"

"You want something to eat?" he asked, still trying to keep his breakfast down and being unwilling to admit that wasn't normal.

"You're either sick or you're pregnant. Which one is it?"

"For the love of..."

Lorelai shook her head. "You do not need to be at work, Luke. You can get other people sick. You're walking around just dropping germs _everywhere_." She pointed. "That mug that you're touching is totally infested right now."

He rolled his eyes. "It's a dirty mug. It was already infested."

"Well, you're infesting it more with...bigger badder more gross germs."

"Okay, you've established I'm gross. Now, can you stop saying it?"

"Look, I know you're stubborn, but sometimes you just have to admit defeat. Go upstairs and rest." Her phone's hard vibration caused her to jump. "Ah!" She pulled it from her pocket. "This thing needs a warning ring or something."

"A ring before the ring?" She smiled and nodded. Luke pointed to the exit. "Don't answer that in here."

She slapped her hand over her purse which had been placed on the countertop. "I'm not," she appeased. She looked at the call display then back at him. "It's Sookie. Told her I'd only be ten minutes, so this is my cue to go. Gotta get back to the inn." She stood, put her purse on her shoulder, and sighed. "Do me a favor." He looked at her. "_Go upstairs_."

He looked away without care. "There's no need for that." He brought his arm up and sneezed again. Lorelai shook her head. Luke closed his eyes tight for a few seconds, then opened them and focused on Lorelai. "You want some coffee for the road?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Did you make it?"

He pushed the side of his fist into the counter. "Yes. I made it. Me and all of my grossness made the damn coffee," he said annoyed.

"It's not grossness. It's sickness. And you need to have that sickness in the bed, Luke. Not in the diner." She moved toward the door. "Don't contaminate the coffee. It's the only reason I come to this dump." She winked at him and pulled the door open. _'Go to bed'_ she mouthed before exiting.

Luke watched her descend the stairs and dial some numbers to get Sookie back on the phone. She disappeared down the sidewalk. Luke rolled his eyes.

"Caesar."

"Yeah, Boss?"

"I'm gonna go upstairs and take something for a stomachache. I'll be right back."

"Okay." Caesar was back behind the counter now. "Are you hot? You're sweating like crazy."

"I'm fine."

"It's pretty chilly in here, so I was ju--"

"I'm fine," Luke said again. He headed toward the curtain. "Give me five minutes."

Caesar nodded. "You got it."

He watched Luke disappear up the stairs.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Since the inn wasn't open yet, there were lots and lots of things to do.

Lorelai and Sookie were partners, but anything that wasn't related to the kitchen was squeezed onto Lorelai's plate. She had her nights. She more or less begged for her nights, but her days were filled to capacity.

After she left the diner that day, she went back to the inn and remained there until nightfall. Upon leaving, she thought to check in on Luke but was so tired that she just made the decision to do it the following morning. She was worried about him. And she hoped he was doing okay.

The next day, Lorelai rose early. She showered, dressed, put her hair in a ponytail, and stood leaning into her bathroom mirror as she applied her make-up.

She was beginning her day early, making time for Luke. She planned to pester him and make him listen to reason. She'd created a two hour cushion. Snapping the cap on her lipstick, her eyes went to the clock which read 7:05.

"Hurry up, Gilmore," she whispered to herself. She grabbed a jacket that would match her clothes and fixed her collar as she descended the staircase.

The house phone rang.

Lorelai stopped on the bottom step and stared at it. She looked at the watch on her wrist. "You better not be who I think you are," she said as she rolled her eyes and went to answer. "Hello." She listened, and two seconds later, she was playfully sobbing. "Tom, are you kidding me? It's only 7 in the morning." She dropped her forehead into her hand as she listened to him. "I know, I know," she muttered. "Thanks for calling. I'll be there in ten minutes." She nodded. "Yeah, only ten minutes. I was about to head out of the door to go somewhere anyway." She listened again and smiled. "Well, glad I can make somebody's day," she said pitifully before hanging up.

"Darn it," she whispered. She grabbed her purse and keys and left for the inn.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Like the day before, Lorelai stole time away from the inn in order to go to _Luke's_. It was after lunchtime.

She stepped inside, and spoke to some townies before her attention went to the counter. She didn't see Luke, but Lane was there ringing up a customer.

"Hey Lane."

"Hey Lorelai. Surprised I'm just seeing you in here."

She sighed and sat down. "Yeah, busy, busy, busy," she replied with exhaustion. "I'm thinking of cloning myself. That way the real _me_ can rest while the little artificial _me's_ run around doing the real work."

Lane chuckled. "But we'd get the real you, right?"

"Oh yes. The Lorelaibots would never get my coffee time."

"Good." She closed the register as the customer stepped away.

Lorelai peered into the back and around the corner leading to the storage room. "So, where's Luke?" she asked.

Lane pointed a finger up as she moved around like a little worker bee. "Upstairs," she answered. "Bedridden. Poor thing."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, he has the flu."

Lorelai looked up at the ceiling like she could see him. "I told him he was sick, but Mr. Hardhead didn't want to listen."

"Well, he's listening now. He went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. After he nearly passed out on the floor."

Lorelai's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Yeah, he just got really weak. Caesar had to drive him to the hospital. You know Luke loved that," she replied sarcastically. Lane grabbed two plates from the window and sat them in front of two customers at the counter.

Lorelai's expression was shock. "Is he okay now, though?"

Lane shrugged, kept moving like she was on fast-forward. "He's better. Either Caesar or me go up every hour or so." She moved around the counter with a coffee pot in each hand, one decaf, one regular. She yelled back to Lorelai while moving from table to table. "We just make sure he doesn't need anything and we keep him updated on what's going on down here." She looked at the newest customer who had laid his menu on the table. "You know what you want?" she asked him. He nodded and started to speak. Lane cut him off. She set one pot down, took a pad and pen from her back pocket and placed it in front of him. "Here, write it down. I'll be back in a second," she told him. She picked up the pot and kept moving. The man looked from the paper to her in confusion. Slowly picking up the pen, he started writing down his order. Lane went in the back, grabbed a large glass of iced tea and went to deposit it in front of him. "Extra lemon, right?" she asked with a wink. He smiled. She grabbed the pad and read over it as she started talking to Lorelai again.

"Anyway, he's sleeping a lot. Just seems really tired and grumpy." She shook her head. "But he's tough. He's hanging in there."

Lorelai was twirled around on her stool, trying to follow Lane's quickened movements. She nodded at her words.

The bell jingled and four new customers came in.

"Hey guys. Just come in and take a seat. I'll get you menus in a minute, okay?" Lane said, not at all overwhelmed with the packed diner that she was handling alone.

The three gentlemen and the one lady nodded and headed toward the only empty table. Lane stopped and looked around, pointing at various customers and thinking. She scurried to the back and came back with plates of food and went back for the next round. "Caesar, I still need a grilled chicken, hold the mayonnaise. Pasta salad with side pickles. That came before this," she said through the window while holding up a large order of chilly cheese fries.

"I know. It's coming. I'm on it," Caesar said back.

Lorelai took in the mayhem for minutes. "Wow, you guys are really busy."

Lane shrugged, her features relaxed. "It's fine." She winked, coming around the corner with four drinks on a tray. "I've got a pretty good rhythm. Actually works best when it's just me because I'm not bumping into anybody." A kid ran past her and she lifted the drinks with ease and kept moving. "At least not any employees," she corrected as she went and deposited drinks.

This time, she pulled out her pad and quickly took down the group's orders. "Be up in ten minutes. Fifteen at most. Would you like a basket of fries for the table while you wait?" she asked, still writing. The group was happy to accept. She smiled and took their menus.

"Everything okay over here?" she asked another group. They nodded, one asked for ketchup. Lane tucked it in her memory and kept moving. The door jingled as a party of three left and two came in. "Take a seat here, guys. I'll be right back to bust this table for you." Lane grabbed payment, along with a ten dollar tip. She didn't slow stride as she went to the register and tendered payment. She shut the drawer back and moved along.

Lorelai watched her. "I'm so impressed," she commented. Lane smiled. She slipped Caesar an order request and went to gather some items for the main floor.

"Tips are flying in like crazy. I'm gonna give Caesar a cut because we're both working our butts off down here."

Lorelai looked at her watch. "Well, I'm exhausted just watching the two of you," she stated. Her eyes went up to the ceiling again, then back to Lane. "So, when's the last time you checked on Luke?"

Lane rounded the counter. "Over an hour ago I think. I'll go up in twenty."

Another customer came in and looked around, not finding any open spaces. Lorelai looked back at him, then hopped up. "Here, you can have my stool," she said. The man smiled gratefully and took a seat. "Hey, Lane?" Lorelai had to look around for a moment to find little miss Speedy Gonzales.

"Yeah?" Lane popped up from behind the counter causing Lorelai to jump, then laugh.

"Um..." She started walking, pointing a finger upward. "Since you're slammed, I think I'll take this shift. I'll go see how Luke's doing."

Lane nodded. "Great. See if he wants something to eat too, will you?"

"Okay, hon."

Noise faded into the background as Lorelai climbed the staircase. She made it to the door and knocked lightly. Hearing nothing, she knocked louder. She still didn't hear anything, so she twisted the knob and opened the door. When the door opened, she heard the end part of an invite. No way would she have heard that from the other side of the door.

"Luke?"

There was some shuffling, then a weak sounding, "Who is that?"

Lorelai appeared around the partition, her hands in her back pockets. She stopped near the bottom of the bed. "It's me."

He rubbed his eyes. "Me who?" he asked groggily.

She started walking slowly toward where he lay. "Stars Hollow's newest Stepford at your service. Can I fluff your pillow, clip your toenails? Or do you just want me to stand in the corner and wait for you to beckon?"

He opened his eyes a little and focused on her. "Lorelai?"

"That'd be me." She looked down at the humidifier on his nightstand then back at him. "So, I hear you're laid up."

He reached over and turned off the humidifier, stopping the flow of clean air that was being directed into his breathing space. "I'm fine," he said after clearing his throat.

Lorelai chuckled. "Yeah, you look it," she said in sarcasm.

Luke was underneath blankets, covered up to his chest. He pulled them down past his navel, revealing the white, stretchable tank top he wore. Lorelai's eyes went from his face to the new exposed area. She'd never seen him in anything less than a flannel, so her attention went low without warning, without permission. She always figured he had something going on under all the cotton. The flannel didn't hide _that _much. So the muscles she saw didn't cause her jaw to hit the floor or anything. It did, however, prove to be quite a distraction. She didn't hear Luke call her name.

"Lorelai."

Nothing.

"Lorelai," he said louder.

She moved her eyes to his face casually. "Yeah?" she answered.

He wasn't looking at her. His hand was back over his eyes like the light was hurting him. "Can you do me a favor and close the blinds?"

She started moving. "Yeah, no problem. Up or down?"

"What?"

"You want me to flip them up or down?"

"What difference does it make?"

"Well, I dunno, personally. But some people prefer up; some prefer d--"

"Either one will work. Thanks."

She flipped the first set then moved to do the other. "O...kay," she stretched out as she completed the task. "It's done." She moved her hands along her jeans as she walked back over to him. She stopped on the other side of his bed, right next to where he lay. He looked up at her and she smiled. "So...are you hungry?" she asked.

He still squinted. He had a headache that was making him not even want to open his eyes. "No," he answered questioningly. He paused. "What are you doing up here?"

She shrugged and her eyes went back down to his frame--again without permission. She blinked and re-focused on his face. "I wanted to make sure you were okay," she answered. "I told you you were sick, didn't I? Guess next time you'll want to listen."

"That's what you came up here for? To make fun of me?" he asked dully.

She shook her head, staring into his face with concern. "No, I really wanted to check on you," she said. Her voice faded as she leaned forward and pushed hair from his forehead. With her palm lying lightly on his skin, she confirmed what she could see just from looking at him. "You're burning up."

He closed his eyes. He felt like a band was going to town behind his eyes. Just beating away.

"I'm fine," he said.

Lorelai moved in a little more and took her hand from his forehead to the side of his face, feeling there too. "Stop saying that, will you? You're not fine."

He opened his eyes just to roll them, then he closed them back. "Whatever."

"What did the doctor say?" Lorelai asked as she took her touches to his arms. He was burning up everywhere.

"He said I was fine," Luke repeated with aggravation. He pulled his arm away from her fingers. "Stop."

She stood up and folded her arms. For seconds she just looked at him in all of his misery. "You're not sick a lot, are you?" she asked. He focused on her but didn't say anything. She smiled. "I'm not either. I hate when I am. I mean, _truly _hate it, ya know?" Her blue eyes scanned his. "I don't like to be in the position to have anyone do _anything _for me. Makes me crazy."

He looked away.

She paused. Turned, folded a leg under her bottom and sat down next to him. She made a move to touch him but stopped. She, instead, clasped her hands in her lap. He looked at her, his eyes asking her what she was doing on his bed. She only smiled again. "You want me to leave?" she asked quietly.

He still looked at her, the attitude in his expression fading ever so slightly.

"You're the guy that does everything for everybody else, and now you have the flu," she stated. They held eye contact. She nudged him with her body. He rocked a little but didn't change his expression. That amused her. "How much is this sucking for you?" she asked playfully.

He rolled his eyes away. "A lot," he muttered.

"Do you want me to leave?" she asked again.

He looked at her. "What do you mean_ '_do I _want _you to leave'? Isn't that what you're going to do?" he asked with a frown. "I don't need you to take care of me."

Lorelai realized how awful a patient Luke was. He snapped at everything.

"I can stay if you want," she offered.

He exhaled loud, showing frustration. "What do I need you to stay for?"

His tone didn't bother her one bit. "Let me rephrase. If you don't mind my company, then I'll stay."

"For what?"

"Luke."

"_Lorelai_."

She chuckled. "You're a mean sick person, dude."

He dropped his head back. "Whatever." He started to get off the other side of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai's hand went to the other side of his stomach, stopping him.

"Getting up. Do you mind?"

"Yeah, I do."

He relaxed. "Okay, fine. How about you go to the kitchen, get a knife, cut me open, remove my bladder, and go empty it for me. Does that sound good?"

Lorelai took her hand away.

"Thought so," Luke mumbled as he struggled to stand.

Lorelai sighed. She silenced her phone as it started to ring. "You need some help?" she asked. She heard him pause, and she turned. "_To _the bathroom, Luke. I'm not offering to hold anything here."

He started walking again. "I'm fine."

"You'd be a damn good drinking game. I'd be falling out drunk right now."

"Whatever."

"Double drunk."

"Don't you have to go back to the inn?"

Lorelai dropped her phone to his bed and stood up quickly. She made it to Luke and put her arm around his waist. She lifted his arm and put it over her shoulder. He was beyond dizzy, and what made Lorelai walk over to him was when she saw him veering left. He was four seconds away from hitting the floor. He recovered and grasped his head as if that would help. He held onto her. Glanced at her with embarrassment in his features.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

She smiled. They started walking slowly toward the restroom.

"Um, I'm okay for a while right here," Lorelai finally answered. "I went in extra early this morning, so I'm good."

He nodded. They made it to the restroom, and Lorelai carefully removed his arm from over her. She placed his hand on the doorframe. "Here, just hold on to the walls." Again he nodded. Stepped inside slowly and closed the door. Lorelai nervously stood in place, fiddling her nails. She tapped the door with a finger.

"And there's no shame in having to sit down, Luke."

"Shut up," she heard him say.

She smiled a little, bit her lip in worry.

She backed away when her phone started giving Luke's bed a quarter's worth of vibration. She grabbed it and walked to the other end of the apartment while looking at the call display. "Come on, Sookie. Just handle it for one day. Please," she muttered. She stood in the kitchen and glanced at the door before turning the volume all the way down on the phone and sticking it in her pocket.

The toilet flushed, water ran in the sink, then the door opened. Luke came out and started walking into the kitchen. Lorelai met him by the coffee table.

"What are you doing?"

He looked down at her. "Are you going to ask me that every time I make a move?"

She took him by the arm and turned him toward the bed. "Yeah, probably. Go lay down. I'll get you what you need."

He sighed heavily and trudged over. "This is annoying, Lorelai." He climbed in the bed and threw the covers over himself.

"I know it is. Now complain from here," she said soothingly. She situated his blankets over him and turned his humidifier back on. "Okay, what can I get you?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm thirsty."

"Want some water?"

"Orange juice will be good."

She smiled. "Okay, be right back." She turned and walked away. "Have you even eaten anything today?" she yelled back.

"Not hungry."

"Huh?" she asked from across the apartment.

"I said I'm _not hungry_," he said, unable to talk as loud as he wanted to.

"You have to eat, Luke."

"I'm not hungry," he repeated.

She poured juice and put it back in the fridge before making her way back over to him. "Out of you and me, you're the more responsible one when it comes to food and stuff. You know you have to eat. Hungry or not, you have to have something in your system." She passed him the glass, and he took it and just sat it on the nightstand.

"Thank you." He made himself comfortable.

"Aren't you going to drink it?"

"Later."

"I think you should drink it now."

"Lorelai, remember that annoying comment?"

She sighed. "Other than some dizziness, how do you feel?"

"Like crap."

"Congested?" she asked looking at the humidifier.

"Little bit. It's getting better, I think," he said.

"Did the doctor prescribe some pills or something?"

"Antiviral meds. Yeah. Took one."

"Without eating anything?"

"Let's change the subject."

"From what?"

"Me."

"Your wish is my reprimand."

Luke turned to face her. "How's everything in the diner. Lane and Caesar handling it okay?"

"Oh, man, you have no idea. I think when you come back, you'll just disturb the flow. They're doing a great job, Luke," she ended truthfully.

He nodded. "That's good."

Luke's phone rang, and he blindly reached for it. "Hello." He looked up at Lorelai. "She's right here. Can I ask why you're calling my phone?" He listened. "If you say so," he mumbled. He passed the phone to Lorelai.

"For me?"

"Apparently."

She answered, only to hear Sookie's voice. "Sook, how'd you know where I--?...Lane? Oh....Well, I have it off because...And you can't---....okay. I'll be right there....No, don't worry about it. Okay, Hon. Bye."

She sighed. Then tilted her head to look at Luke. He had his eyes closed, and he looked so pitiful. She laid his cordless phone near the foot of the bed and sat down next to him. "Are you tired?" she asked quietly. Her hand moved to his damp hair. She brushed it from his face, then moved her hand to his shoulder where she rubbed his bare arm.

She expected him to snap again. She was already prepared for it. He only sighed, kept his eyes closed. "I just feel hot," he answered, just as quiet. "Everything keeps spinning."

Her heart tugged a little in both directions at his voice. She hated to see him in such a vulnerable state. "Listen, I'm going to run to the inn and take care of some stuff, but I'll be back, okay? Later on."

He squeezed his eyes tight then brought his hand over them. "You don't have to. I can manage."

Her hand moved to his. He uncovered his eyes with her gentle urge but still kept them closed. "I want to, Luke. If I'm not here, I'm gonna worry about you, so just give me my peace of mind. Can you do that?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her through slits. "Whatever," he whispered before closing his eyes back.

Lorelai shook her head and stood. "Just rest until I get back. Try not to move a lot."

Luke didn't comment. He just rolled away from her.

Lorelai put his phone back in its cradle and headed for the door. She made a mental note to pick up some food on the way back over. She also figured she'd drop by the crapshack and pick up some stuff. Her eyes went to his couch as she wondered how comfortable it would be to sleep on.

"Lorelai?"

She turned back at Luke's voice. "Yeah?"

He paused, didn't lift his head to her or anything. "Can you try to hurry back?" he asked quietly.

She brought her lips in and just stared at his form for seconds. With a swallow, she answered, "Uh, yeah...Hon, I'll get back as fast as I can."

Another pause. "Thanks."

Lorelai smiled and started back toward the door.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai came back in the diner in the middle of clean-up. It was only six-thirty. It had just gotten dark, and Lane and Caesar were calling it a day.

"Closing four hours early huh? Slackers," Lorelai playfully scolded as she tip-toed on the recently mopped floor.

Lane laughed. "Twelve hours is more than enough. We haven't been able to stop all day." She stood behind the counter counting cash.

Lorelai nodded toward her, rearranged bags in her arms. "Did pretty good today?" she asked of her tips.

Lane smiled brightly and waved the money. "One-hundred, ninety eight dollars."

Lorelai's mouth dropped. "Oh my god! Honey, that's awesome."

She nodded. "I almost want to forget about Caesar and run off into the sunset. Just me and my Washingtons."

"Well, that'll sure keep you and the guys in Pringles for a while huh?" she asked, referring to her roomies.

Lane fanned herself with the bills. "The air flow is so good over here."

Lorelai laughed and shifted all of the things in her arms once more. "Well, Scrooge McDuck, I'm gonna leave you to swim in your fortune while I head on upstairs."

Lane turned attention back to her pile of cash. "Okay, just be careful heading up! Floor's a lawsuit waiting to happen."

"Thanks for the warning!"

Lorelai carefully climbed the stairs. When she made it to the apartment door, she entered without knocking, figuring Luke would be asleep. Quietly she secured the door and called his name in a voice that barely had register. She didn't hear anything, and after moving around the glass, she found him balled under the covers snoring lightly.

She smiled.

With backward steps, she started toward the kitchen. There, she took out items from Doose's. The list included soup, bread, pudding, juice, bottled water, bananas, vitamins, more medicine, oatmeal, eggs, and milk. Everything perishable was put away and the other stuff, she placed on the countertop. She pulled off her jacket and walked back into the living room, dropping it to the couch. She kicked off her heels and deposited a compact overnight bag on top of the jacket before she was inching over towards Luke's bed.

He was covered completely, no skin visible at all.

Lorelai leaned over him and tugged covers until his head showed. "Oh, Luke," she whispered as she took him in. He was drenched. She left his side and came back a minute later with a wet washcloth that she used to pat his face.

Luke stirred. Moaned. Opened his eyes sluggishly to Lorelai.

"Hey," he whispered.

Her smile lighted the room as she looked down to him. "Hi. I see you've been swimming. Told you not to move."

Luke stared at her through squinted lids. His vision was foggy. His head was even foggier. His body was far past dehydration. "You came back."

"I told you I would." Her smile was so captivating, and he stared hard like what he was seeing wasn't really there. He stared like at any moment, he expected the image to vanish. Angels never seemed to stay put.

His hand came from under the cover, and he touched her wrist with the lightest touch known to man before pulling back. He found that she remained.

Lorelai looked down at his hand then back in his eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked. She rubbed his cheek with her thumb. "You okay?" She questioned his stare which had yet to break.

He lifted his hand again and this time put it over hers fully, removing it from his face. He blinked and finally looked away. "I'm great," he mumbled in sarcasm. Lorelai pulled back as he attempted to sit up.

Her eyes scanned his body. "What are you doing?"

Luke's hand moved back through his hair. He ignored her question. "I'm sweating like a maniac," he muttered, looking over himself.

"It probably just means your fever is breaking. How do you feel?"

Despite all the sweat, he responded, "I'm cold. _Wet_." He groaned and laid back down. From there, he struggled to take his damp tank top off. Once off, he tossed it to the floor and pushed the covers away with his feet. They slid to the floor too. He lay flat on the bed, sighing in exhaustion.

Sweat covered his chest. He wore sweats which were hanging low due to his movements. Blue and green checkered boxers showed. His chest moved up and down with the heavy breaths he took, and the line of hair going down his stomach and disappearing beneath those boxers was flattened by perspiration.

Lorelai watched a bead of sweat roll into his belly button.

He had a really cute belly button.

Her eyes traveled. Went on a fantastic voyage with Coolio. She took in Luke's body completely.

For seconds, her eyes had a mind entirely separate from the one she was familiar with.

Finally, she tore focus away and brought it to her feet. She found them to be a very poor substitute.

"---ause I should have gotten some yesterday. Guess it'll last. Any minute the room will stop spinning, and I'll do that."

Lorelai placed attention on Luke. The most _northern _part of Luke. When had he started talking anyway?

"What did you say?" she asked.

He brought his legs to the side of the bed. She stepped back. He leaned down and rested on his knees for a moment. "Said I'm gonna go take a shower."

She took a breath and started thinking again. "A shower?"

"Yeah, a quick one."

"Maybe you should just let yourself sweat this out. It's good for you."

He stood up and steadied himself. Lorelai's eyes moved upward to meet his. "I'm sure I'll still have plenty of sweat to sweat even after I get out."

She followed him over to his dresser and turned attention away as he grabbed underwear. "I still think that you should wait. Just until you feel a little better." He got another pair of sweat pants and tossed them over his shoulder, heading toward the bathroom.

"I'll be--"

"Fine. I know. You've been _fine _all day," she said, walking close behind him.

"I'll only be a minute," he said.

Lorelai looked at the bathroom door as he closed it gently in her face. She released a defeated sigh. "Luke, be careful, okay?" She spoke to the door. "If you feel dizzy, just--"

"Lorelai."

She rolled her eyes, folded her arms tight. "Sorry. Just...be careful, please," she said quietly.

He paused, took time to internalize his frustration. "I will," he said with reassurance.

Lorelai nodded a little and backed away.

--

Luke came out in under 10 minutes. He wore no shirt.

But he headed straight to his dresser and pulled one over his head.

"You turned up the heat," he commented to Lorelai who wheeled past him with his television set. She got it in position and stood up.

"Uh, yeah. You mentioned you were cold."

He nodded. "Thanks."

She smiled and leaned back down to tend to the TV.

He turned away from her and moved toward his bed. He saw that the glass of juice from earlier, which he'd drank half of, had been replaced with a large glass of water. One of his pills was next to it. His eyes moved to his bed just before he plopped down and he saw that the sheets had been changed.

His intended plop turned into a more civilized sit as he admired the tight hospital style corners.

"You missed your calling."

Lorelai looked at him over her shoulder. "What?" Luke pointed down to the bed, and she rolled her eyes playfully and turned back. "I was a maid for seven years." She pointed to her head. "Once something gets in, it's in. There's no escape."

Luke smiled and laid himself across the bed carefully. His head was still trying to take off somewhere. "Thanks, Lorelai."

"All my pleasure, Luke," she answered distractedly.

He watched her work for a moment. "What are you doing?"

"Making it so you can watch television in bed. It's one of the true pleasures of being sick."

"TV in bed?"

"Yep. And junk food. But you don't have much of an appetite, so this will have to do."

He twisted his body in the bed and positioned himself under the covers. He slid his back to the headboard and sat still, allowing the swimming pain in his head to subside. After a few seconds and very little success, he sighed. "How long are you staying tonight?"

Finally finished with hook-up, Lorelai stood up and faced him, placing strands of hair behind her ear. "Um, pretty late," she answered on a deep breath.

He nodded. "Until I fall asleep?"

She pointed behind her. "Something like that. Brought my jammies," she said lightly with a wink.

He looked toward the couch then back at her. "You don't have to spend the night. I'd never ask you to do that."

"I know. You didn't ask."

He regarded her. "You don't mind?"

She shook her head without hesitation. "Not at all." She sat at the foot of his bed. His eyes went to her knee which was touching his covered foot then back to her face.

"I don't..._need _you to stay. You know that, right?"

She nodded. "Sure."

He paused. "Okay."

She nodded, shrugged. He just looked at her. Several seconds passed. "Okay," he said again. She smiled. More seconds of silence. Luke looked away.

"So, um..." They met eyes again. "I got you some soup. How about I go warm some up?"

"Soup?"

"Mmhm. I got a few cans from the store, but I also had Sookie make you some. It's got chicken and carrots and potatoes. Everything. Smells great."

He thought for a moment as if determining how he felt about food. "Still not hungry," he finally said. "Thank Sookie for me, though."

Lorelai shook her head and stood. "You've gotta eat something, Hon." She hit the button on the television and passed him the remote. "I'll be back with your food, okay? Entertain yourself until then." She walked away before he could respond. Bringing his attention to the remote in his hand, he took a deep breath and started going through the channels.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke looked up from the movie he was watching as Lorelai approached him with a tray.

She wore a smile, looking down at the items she carried to make sure they remained rooted. "I'm surprised I found one of these things in here," she said of the tray. She made it over to him. Luke flattened the bedspread over his lap before reaching for the tray she extended.

"Thanks," he mumbled looking over the simple spread.

Lorelai crossed her arms and looked from the food to him. "So, you're a breakfast in bed kinda guy, huh?"

"What?"

She pointed at the food tray. "You're a romantic."

He rolled his eyes away. "Hardly."

She smiled bright. "Casanova's descendent."

"Forgot I had this thing."

"You bought it?"

"It was just here."

"Traveled from Bed, Bath, and Beyond all by its lonesome?"

"Guess so."

"Impressive."

"Remarkable," he monotonously replied.

She pointed over her shoulder. "Guess it hitchhiked with the curtains, huh?"

Luke's eyes squinted and she smiled evilly. His gaze dropped and he moved his bowl with his thumb. "You cooked."

"I heated."

"You prepared."

"I spooned."

He sighed. She laughed. "Whatever," he conceded. "I'm slightly impressed."

"Okay. Then, I'm _slightly _proud."

He smiled a little. "I have a question for you."

She moved toward the bed and planted her knee on it comfortably. "What's that?"

He looked up at her. "If I'm not hungry--if I _told_ you I'm not hungry--why would you bring me a double serving?"

Her eyes dropped to the two bowls of soup. She shrugged. "Gotta get your strength up."

He gave her a doubtful look, questioning her with a gaze. Her lips curled and she turned and sat next to him. Dropped next to him, actually. He just looked at her. He sat in the middle, and her shoulder overlapped his on the twin sized mattress. She reached for one of the bowls. "Mind if I dine with you?"

He watched her lift it and place it in her palm.

"You're gonna eat this?"

She shrugged, stirred it with the spoon. "Sure."

He looked in the bowl, became amused. "It has carrots in it."

She looked at him. "Thanks Inspector Clouseau. I appreciate the visual affirmation."

He took a breath, shook his head. "Have you eaten anything tonight?"

"No, didn't really have time to."

"So, this is your dinner?"

She continued to stir it with her spoon. "It's your dinner. It can be mine." She pointed to his bowl which sat untouched on the tray. "Come on." She smiled. "Let's eat."

He glanced at his food. "I'm really not all that hungry."

She sighed. "Luke."

"What?"

"Please eat. You have to eat."

He smirked. "I'm more interested in watching you eat that."

She rolled her eyes. "Jeez, avoid vegetables for a couple decades, and people lose all faith," she mumbled. She brought a big spoonful to her mouth and the food disappeared. She turned to look at Luke, and he watched her chew like he was sure he'd find mirrors and strings for the magic he was seeing. Lorelai chuckled and covered her mouth. "Happy now?"

He lifted his brows. "More like shocked."

She pointed at his food. "Now you."

"Not now."

"Yes now. Eat."

He shook his head.

She regarded him for several moments. "Hey, well...it's...your loss 'cause this is _awesome_," she said gesturing to her bowl.

"Well, enjoy it."

"Fine. I will."

"Good."

She looked from her bowl back to him then to her bowl again. A tiny smile started at the corner of her lips as she lifted the spoon to her mouth. She ate the contents and made a noise like she was in the middle of something a bit more intimate. "Mmmm."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh my god," he muttered.

She did it again. "Mmmm. Boy, this is soooo good."

"You know you're embarrassing yourself right now, don't you?"

"_Have mercy_!" Her eyes rolled closed as she took another bite and licked the spoon like it was a tootsie roll pop. Luke paused and ended up staring at her mouth. "If only I could share this experience with someone else. But _who_? It's like my taste buds are having a luau." She batted her eyelashes. "...all alone."

When she looked at him and broke into a wide grin, his eyes moved to hers. For seconds, all his mind focused on were images and noises he'd just witnessed. He swallowed. "That was pathetic," he said. It took additional time to calm himself down enough to actually _feel _unmoved by her performance.

She drooped. Her body leaned into him more. "I know it was pathetic, but toss me a bone here," she pleaded.

He could only take so much. "Jeez." Lorelai had placed two slices of white bread in a saucer on the side of his bowl. Just to give him a little help in keeping the soup down. He picked up a slice and ripped off the top. He bit it and chewed slow.

Lorelai looked relieved, and she sat up a bit straighter. "Good huh?"

He still chewed. "It's _bread_. It tastes like _bread_."

"I meant finally having something in your stomach."

He reached for his spoon. "Yeah, sure."

She smiled as she watched him begin to eat. With an encouraging touch, she momentarily rubbed his knee through the bedspread, then started to eat her own food. The television kept the room from being draped in silence, and for minutes, both their attention was on that distraction.

"This really is delicious," Lorelai said.

Luke ate another spoonful. "Yeah, it is," he agreed.

"Wish I had some coffee. Coffee would make it even better."

"Soup and coffee."

"Uh huh."

"You're a strange person."

She chuckled and placed her bowl on his tray. She'd only eaten a third of it. Turning a bit on the small bed, she watched him eat for a few seconds. When he looked at her in question, she smiled. "So," she began.

His brows lifted. "So..." he followed. He picked up his glass of water and drank a little of it.

"Let's talk more about this breakfast in bed thing."

He rolled his eyes and set his glass down. "Let's not."

"Is that how you woo the ladies?"

He took a small breath and his hand went to his stomach. "I don't woo."

She tilted her head. "Well, come to think of it, if you're serving them breakfast in your bed, then the wooing already worked."

"Lorelai."

"I've never had a guy bring me breakfast in bed. Do you think it's me?"

He closed his eyes momentarily, his hand still on his stomach. "I dunno. You probably sniff out the food like a bloodhound while it's still being fixed and just take off running to the coffee pot."

She thought for a moment. "You're right. I do do that."

"See." He pulled the blankets off his body carefully.

She chuckled, and at the same time, took notice of his movements. "Where you going? Want seconds already?" she asked playfully. "Gotta finish the primary first."

He pushed aside the covers a little quicker and got to his feet. "Think I'm about to be sick," he said calmly.

Her eyes followed him as he stood and started walking. "Really?"

He only nodded and headed into the bathroom.

She stood up with wide eyes. "Oh no. Sookie's gonna be so disappointed." Luke closed the door, and Lorelai walked over and leaned against it with a tiny sigh. "Good going, Lorelai," she whispered. She heard him start to bring back the recently consumed food. She closed her eyes. "Poor Luke."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai removed the cold compress from Luke's head only to replace it with another.

He lay in bed looking at the ceiling.

"Feel better?"

"Sure," he answered blandly.

"Are you lying?"

"Pretty much."

She smiled and moved her hand back through his hair as she stood leaning over his bed. "Here, open up." Luke opened his mouth, and she placed a thermometer under his tongue.

"This isn't necessary," he said, his tone flat and annoyed.

Lorelai kneeled on the floor and continued to rub his hair. Luke found it incredibly soothing, but he refused to let himself enjoy it. "Try not to talk okay? Just hold that there for another minute."

"Whatever," he grumbled.

"That sounds like talking to me," she admonished. "Mouth closed."

Luke sighed. He tried not to look over at her, but his eyes ended up going there after several seconds. She gave him that breathtaking smile again. He looked at her plainly. He hated the position he was in. "Come on Luke. Don't look so mean." He rolled his eyes away. She chuckled and took the thermometer from his mouth. "Uuuuh, 101," she said. "Came down a little bit."

"Break out the party hats."

She smiled and turned toward his nightstand, preparing some liquid medicine for him to take. He'd taken his prescribed pill a couple hours ago, when he'd come from the bathroom. Luke's eyes went over her profile as she sat turned away from him.

"Aren't you worried about getting sick?" he asked her.

She looked at him briefly before returning attention to her task. "Haven't really thought about it actually."

"You haven't?" She shook her head. "You can, you know- get sick. You're around me, and I have the flu."

She shrugged. "Well, you're on meds. I think you started them in time, so I'll probably be okay," she said flippantly.

He paused. "But you don't care?"

She chuckled. "Well, yeah, I care. Nobody wants the flu." Again, she shrugged. "But if I get sick, then you can take care of _me_. And let me tell you, buddy, I am much worse a patient than you can ever be. I'm talking Judy Parfitt in Dolores Claiborne."

He nodded at her words.

"Thanks, Lorelai..." She turned and they locked eyes, "...for doing all this. I really appreciate it."

"I know you do, Luke."

Their gaze started to get a little intense, and they both turned away at the same moment.

Luke cleared his throat. "So...I'm not messing up your night, am I? By keeping you here?"

She secured the cap on the medicine bottle. "Please. Every since Rory left for Yale, all I do is watch TV at night. I can do that anywhere. At least this way, I get to do it with you," she added with nonchalance. "Open wide," she said bringing the tiny plastic cup to his lips. He took it from her and drank it, passing the cup back to her.

"Ugh. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She turned to face his bed again, and her hands went to his arm. She squeezed it, feeling a little less heat coming from him. "Dare I ask about food?"

He smirked. "What about it?"

She smiled. "Can you try to eat some bread? Something light? Please?"

He looked down to where she was caressing his arm. "Uh yeah sure," he answered, looking back in her face. "I'll eat some bread."

Her eyes went bright. "Okay, good. Be right back." She sprung up and jogged to the kitchen. Luke smiled.

--

"Still okay?"

"Yeah."

Five seconds passed. "What about now?"

Heavy sigh. "Yes."

Five more seconds passed. "How about now?"

"Lorelai."

"Are you still okay?"

"Yes. And I'm gonna be okay thirty seconds from now and two minutes away from now. Relax."

It had been a half hour since Luke had eaten a couple slices of bread and a banana, and Lorelai kept hoping his body wouldn't reject it like it'd rejected the soup.

She sighed and crossed her ankles. Luke was laying down on his bed, his head raised high on pillows so that he could see the television. He was scooted to the edge, and Lorelai was next to him, sitting up with her back against the headboard. Luke only had one television, and Lorelai got him to make room for her so that she could watch it too. She still wore jeans. She hadn't changed clothes from earlier, and Luke found relief in that. At least she wasn't dressed for bed.

"Has it been two minutes yet?"

"Oh, jeez."

She smiled. "Seriously, do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Five bucks if you go the rest of tonight without saying that."

"Whatever."

She laughed. "It's been déjà vu all night long. _Whatever_, _I'm fine_. You need a grumpy man's thesaurus."

"Hush."

Lorelai groaned dramatically as she reached on the nightstand for his thermometer. "Lift your tongue," she said holding it at his mouth. He opened his mouth and did that. She carefully put it in place, watching his lips wrap around the instrument. "Kay, hold it there," she whispered.

After a minute had come and gone, she reached over and slid it from his mouth slowly, again focused on his lips. She blinked and read the temp. "You're at 100. You're doing so good."

"Thanks," he said with his attention on the TV. "I'm trying to reward your efforts."

Lorelai chuckled and dropped the thermometer to the table. "You're so kind," she said.

She turned focus back to the screen as well.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai laughed. Shook her head.

Luke squinted and looked at the picture from a different angle. "Men Without Hats," he said with a shrug.

She took her marker from the small dry erase board and gave him a confused look.

"Well, hell, I don't know. I give up," he said.

"Jeez, Luke! Duran Duran!"

"What song?"

"_Magic_!" she said hitting her picture with the tip of the marker.

Luke looked at the picture again and finally understood the drawing of a hat, a musician, and a wand. "Oh."

"Who in the hell is Men Without Hats?" she asked.

"It's a group. They were a real group."

"Songs, Luke. _Songs_, not groups."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of anything else. I've never heard of _Magic_."

She shook her head and passed him the board. "Don't worry. I'll still associate with you."

"What have I done to deserve you?" he asked flatly.

"Must've put in a lot of overtime with Mother Teresa."

Luke took the board and marker with a sigh. It was one that Lorelai had found in his closet. She came up with a game. A form of Pictionary for the two of them to play. It just involved old song titles, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that Luke's knowledge of the subject wasn't limited at all. No cards were involved. Whoever had the board just had to think of a song and draw it out.

An hour and a half had passed since they'd begun, and every so often, Lorelai would find herself smiling in Luke's direction. She could see he was enjoying himself. And really, that was all that mattered. She brought her knees to her chest. Luke was now leaning against the headboard too. They sat shoulder to shoulder, Luke's lower body under blankets.

"You're not going to get this one," he mumbled.

They weren't keeping any kind of score, which worked well for Luke because Lorelai seemed to be a walking, talking music encyclopedia. They just played for fun, either trying to stump the other or drawing a picture to share in a song memory from long ago.

She only smiled at his words. Her eyes fell to the board as he began to sketch out a picture. His pictures showed artistic skill. When trying to stump her, that, of course, benefited her and only hurt him.

He drew a slanted bumpy line that started at the top left and ended at center bottom. It looked like a hill. Lorelai stored that. At the bottom of that hill, he drew wavy lines which easily depicted water. She stored that as well. Going back to the hill, he created circular, jagged objects that seemed to be moving down it. Those objects were drawn along the hill, and some were even drawn inside of the water current. Lorelai's eyes went narrow as her mind began scanning songs. He took the marker to the picture's sky and drew birds, distant trees, flowers, and a gorgeous sun all in a matter of seconds.

He snapped the cap on the marker and looked at her with a bright smile.

"That's it?" she asked.

He nodded.

She made a face, and Luke smiled wider. He glanced between her and the picture.

His smile grew, almost turned to a grin. "You're not gonna get it," he said proudly. He tapped the side of the board with the marker.

She stared at the picture and hit level 4, 5, then 6 of her thinking process. He was a little too proud of his depiction for it to be right on the surface. Her first thought was Rolling Stones, and if they were doing band names, that would have been what would have come from her lips. But they weren't. And even if they were, that was way too easy. Still, Rolling Stones stuck with her.

Luke's eyes were on her.

Another minute passed, and a smile started to spread over her lips inch by inch like she was piecing something together. She still stared at the picture. As her smile grew wider, Luke's got smaller. She tore her eyes away from the picture and up to Luke, grinning from ear to ear. He now wore a frown.

With a finger pointing toward the board, she said, "Man, Luke, this was so smart."

He rolled his eyes.

She went on. "Brian Jones..." She pointed at his picture, "...of Rolling Stones drowned. Now, initially I'm like 'what the hell does that have to do with anything?' Then I see the trees and birds and everything, so I try to think when it happened, ya know?"

"Jeez."

"And this pretty picture here tells me that it was a pretty day, a clear day, like _summertime_! But still, nothing clicked with that, so I try to think what year it was. Sixty-six? No. Sixty-seven? No. Sixty-eight? Don't think so." She snapped her fingers. "Then I got it. Sixty-_nine_!" Luke had turned his head away from her. She grasped his chin and made him face her. "And here," she announced while tapping the picture, "We have..._Summer of '69 _by Brian Adams."

Luke moved his chin from her hand and dropped the marker. "How in the hell did you get that?!"

She shrugged. "It's a gift."

He scoffed. "Jeez, you--you---" He searched his head for a way to finish that and Lorelai laughed. He sighed indignantly. "You are _not _normal," he finally finished and tossed the board towards his feet.

" _Standin' on Mama's porch. You told me that it'd LAST forEVer_!" Lorelai sang. She picked up Luke's hand and held it tight with both of hers. " _Oh, when you held my hand, I knew that it was NOW or neVER. Those were the BEST days of my life_."

He shook his head.

" _Oohh yeeeah_," she continued off key. Luke fought a smile. She opened his hand and ran her fingers over his palm as she bopped her head to the song which played on in her head. " ..._Back in the Summer of SIXTY ni_--" Lorelai started laughing. Luke had given into temptation and had joined her in emphasizing the year in that unforgettable hook. "_SIXTY nine_!" he'd sang with her.

She really wasn't expecting that.

" _Uh uh huh_, " he continued.

He chuckled at Lorelai who was now turning red. He playfully snatched his hand away from her and tried to rope in his laughter. "I'm not playing with you anymore. I think you're cheating." She still laughed so hard. He looked away from her, hating that he was smiling as wide as he was. It actually hurt his jaw muscles to get it to go away. He picked up the remote and looked at the buttons, just as a way to do something with himself.

Lorelai finally calmed down and looked over at him. He was still focusing on the remote.

"Finally finished?" he asked, as if annoyed.

He could feel her staring at him. Unfortunately, that caused his smile to reappear, and he looked over at her. Her lips were still curled. Her eyes went between his for several seconds. She smiled wider then looked away. Her hand ran down his thigh, then she climbed off the bed.

"I'm gonna go take a shower." She stretched then started walking toward her things. "When I come out, we can watch the dirty stuff on Cinemax. It's late enough for that, right? Naked chicks. Woohoo."

Luke looked at the time which read 11:13pm. He moved his eyes back to her. "You have serious issues," he stated plainly.

She giggled.

Luke watched her dig through her things for a moment before he looked away. He hoped that she'd brought some long johns and maybe a parka to sleep in. Something that covered.

"Be back shortly," she said heading into the bathroom.

He nodded. Looked over and saw her with her night clothes. Ones that fit in the palm of her hand.

"Oh brother," he mumbled as the bathroom door closed.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Are you in pain?"

"Why?"

"You're groaning."

"No, I'm not."

"It's subtle groaning. But you're groaning."

"Well, then _subtly _ignore it. I'll live."

"Sounds like you're in pain," Lorelai commented.

Luke looked up at her. He was now laying flat on his bed, and she was still sitting against his headboard. Like Luke suspected, she wore barely anything. A pair of short shorts that looked more like underwear and a tank top. But over it, she had a long housecoat that she held together every time she stood. He was grateful for that.

"Muscles just feel tight," he revealed. "Probably has something to do with being squeezed in my bed," he complained. He really had no problems with her sitting there. He was grateful for the company. Happy for _her _company. And with her so close all night long, he'd learned how much of a toucher she was. She touched him so much.

It felt good to him. He missed just being next to someone and feeling cared about. And having Lorelai be the one to give that back to him was especially nice.

"You want me to move?" she asked him.

He answered lackadaisically. "You don't have to. You're okay."

Her hand went to his forehead. He had cooled down but was still warm. "Well, as for the muscle pain, I have some cream you can use."

"Carry muscle cream around with you?"

"No, I bought it for you."

"Guess you thought of everything."

"Tried to."

He sighed. "Thanks." Her hand moved back through his hair briefly before she removed it from his head altogether.

"No prob, Bob," she finally replied. She got off the bed and went to her bag. She came back with cream and tossed it at his chest before she sat back down. "Hey, Luke, when are you going to get a bigger bed?"

He picked up the tube and read over it. "When I feel like it. That day has yet to come."

"Looking for the right woman?"

"I'm not looking for a woman at all."

She paused. "The right...guy?"

He looked at her. "Is that a gay joke? Because I don't see the humor."

She smiled. "You'll upgrade eventually, right?"

"Yeah, saw some bunk beds on sale. Might go take a look."

Lorelai scanned the bed. "You and I can barely fit on here. And we're just sitting here. Imagine if we were--"

"Should I have my hand over the censor button right now?" he asked as he continued to read.

"You can't really _do _anything in a twin sized. It's adolescent hell. Just one position until the guy finishes and hops up like he actually did something. This sized bed is like _pre, pre, pre_-good sex."

Luke brought the tube down and looked up at her. "Your mind is like a whole paradise of inappropriateness, isn't it?"

She ignored him. "That's not how it is with you, is it?"

He rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you just asked me that," he said plainly.

Lorelai looked down at him regretfully. "Because the twin bed kinda says that about you. I'm just looking out for you, Luke. If a woman comes in and sees this, she's not going to think happy thoughts."

"We've had this conversation before."

"Yeah, and it obviously didn't do much good."

He took a breath. "I wasn't aware that the bed _defined _me."

"It doesn't. But it's just one of the final things a woman will look at to determine what she's going to be in for. Women dissect until there's nothing left to dissect. We look at all possible signs to answer a question we want the answer to. I.e, _how is this man in bed_?" she added quietly. She patted the small amount space that was left on the side of her. "This isn't that good a sign, Luke."

Again he looked up at her. "You're kidding me, right?"

She shook her head a little, shrugged.

"Women actually think that way?" he said doubtfully.

"Well, yeah."

"That's shallow."

Lorelai chuckled. "Oh man, guys should _not _be allowed to let that word pass their lips."

"_I'm _not shallow."

Lorelai didn't even have to think on that one. "No, _you're _not but--"

"And I don't just bring strange, random women back to my apartment, so hopefully anybody I do bring up here will be _mature_ enough to not let a bed answer questions."

She looked down. Luke released an aggravated breath.

Moving her eyes to him, she spoke, "You're right. It is immature," she agreed with a sigh. "You're a great guy, Luke. Awesome guy," she added quietly. She waved her hand. "I was just talking...friend to friend." She smiled and patted his chest. "Keep your twin sized."

Silence fell between them.

"You don't think that do you?" Luke asked.

"Hm?" Lorelai asked. He'd spoken so low.

"You don't think that men with twin sized beds are...all about self, do you?" he asked with a tiny bit more volume. He looked down the bed toward the TV as he spoke, not at her.

She looked from his face to her fingers and shook her head lightly. "No," she answered. Seconds went by. "Of course I don't."

He sighed. "Good."

The feeling of discomfiture had hit her all at once. And sudden, unexpected contentions rose, and in a matter of seconds, went from being internal to external. So, she questioned Luke. Twin sized beds came with twin sized performances. And she had unforeseen frustration at the thought of Luke falling into that lame category. That frustration trailed discontentment, neither of which had any basis.

Lorelai cleared her head of thoughts and looked over at him. He twirled the tube between his fingers absentmindedly.

She pointed. "You need some help with that?"

He looked up at her. "With putting it on?" he asked.

"Yeah."

He shook his head and looked away. "No, I'm okay."

She nodded easily. "Okay."

Luke flipped the cap off the cream and squeezed some onto his finger. He sighed, still laying there. Something dawned. His body was so not about to like the twists and turns he was about to put it through. Lorelai watched his cream covered finger sit immobile in the air. She smiled.

"Sure you don't need any help?"

He looked up at her again. With a pause, he said, "Probably could use a little bit."

She chuckled. Holding his hand steady with one of hers, she swiped the cream from his finger and took the tube from him also. "Take your shirt off," she instructed with a gesture.

He did so, grunting from the aches and pains that covered his body.

Lorelai rubbed the cream between her fingers. "Now, if you have any pain below the belt, I think I'm gonna let you handle that."

He rolled his eyes. "I think I'm good down there. Thanks."

She smiled and turned toward him a bit. "Okay, tell the doctor where it hurts."

With an open hand, he gestured all over his upper frame. "Shoulders, arms, sides, whole stomach area, really."

"Jeez. Good thing I got the odorless stuff or it'd be smelling like an assisted living center in here."

"I know. Thanks for that."

She brought her fingers to his shoulder then rubbed for a moment before deciding to change positions. She got on her knees next to him. "Too bad we don't have one of those tables with the hole in it huh? Then I could really rub you down," she said playfully.

He smiled. She did too.

She rubbed for a long while in silence. Along his shoulders, across his chest, down his arms.

"You're really tight," she said quietly.

He nodded, his eyes now closed. A few seconds passed and he smiled. "If the situation was reversed and I had said that to you..."

"Oh my god, it would have been a total dirty," she finished.

He chuckled. "Figured."

She smiled, looking at his closed eyes, his long eyelashes. "Well, I can say something like..." She pretended to think, "...you're so tense and _hard_." She still looked at his drawn lids. "And that could be a dirty for you. You know, if you were looking for one."

He smiled. "You'd never set me up like that. It's too easy."

She laughed. "That's true." She moved her hands and eyes down to his stomach where she worked cream into his skin. "I could probably make an exception, though," she added.

His eyes stayed closed as he delighted in her touch. "That'd be the day," he muttered.

Lorelai looked up at him and smiled to herself. "Yeah. Guess it would be."

She smoothed her hands over his stomach, around his sides, then up his chest before taking his chin lightly in her hand and moving it left to right playfully. "Wake up and tip the masseuse."

He smiled lazily and opened his eyes. "Finished already?"

Her hand went to his chest as she leaned over him. "Already? It's been ten minutes, Mr. Feel Good." Her fingers absently went through his chest hair. "I have to go to sleep because some of us have to go to work tomorrow, _Lazy_." She smiled at his smile. "Need anything before I head over?"

He sighed. "Glass of water?"

"Sure. That's it?"

"That's it."

She stepped off the bed and placed the cream on the nightstand. "Coming right up," she announced.

He watched her walk away. "Thank you," he said quietly.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

The next day, Lorelai was at the Dragonfly later than anticipated.

She had woken up and gotten ready for work, all with Luke sleeping soundly.

She was ready with time to spare, and she ran down to the diner to get food to go, figuring she'd eat at the inn. While down there, she had Caesar prepare oatmeal for Luke, along with a bagel and some juice just in case he had a better appetite. When she brought it back upstairs, Luke was up. He sat on the edge of the bed rubbing his eyes.

"Hey," she greeted, sounding out of breath. "What are you doing up? It's early." She set the food on the table and walked over.

"What time is it?" he asked sleepily.

She checked her watch. "Ten after eight." She waved him down. "Go back to sleep. We turned in pretty late last night."

He looked over at her. She was dressed in tight jeans, a carolina blue collared shirt and a stylish double breasted grey jacket. His eyes scanned her slowly. From her heels to her made up face. Her hair was down around her shoulders. She wore light make-up. Lip balm, no lipstick. Mascara that made her bright blue eyes even harder to overlook. It really didn't make sense, he thought. It didn't make sense at all for someone to look that damn beautiful with so little effort.

"Are you checking me out, Luke?" Lorelai asked teasingly.

Only then did he realize he'd been looking at her for quite some time without a word.

He rolled his eyes and stood up. Grumpy and indifferent Luke was a fabulous façade. "You have something in your hair," he muttered.

Lorelai looked upward like she'd be able to see what he saw. She laughed as she realized he meant the straw that she'd placed behind her ear. She pulled it away and finger-combed her hair back in place. "This is for you," she said, watching him walk lazily across the floor. "I got it for your orange juice."

He walked past her, and they shared brief eye contact. She smiled. "How do you feel?"

He shrugged. "Better, I guess. Got a headache." He went into the bathroom and came out a minute later. Lorelai had moved over to the table. She was laying out his food.

"Hey, I'll pick you up some gatorade when I come back later. It'll help with the headache. The last thing you need is unnecessary medicine entering your body because it might conflict with the antiviral stuff."

He nodded and took a seat at the table. He looked at the oatmeal from the diner, then up at her. "For me?"

She smiled. "For you. Eat up."

He frowned.

"Do you feel like you can eat something?" she asked with a hopeful look.

He shrugged and sat back. He still didn't have much of an appetite. With a finger pointed to her bag, he asked, "You have danishes?"

She nodded. "Sugary goodness in all its glory. Want a bite?"

"No." He pushed his plastic oatmeal container toward her some. "You need to be eating stuff like this. You may start adding years back on your life."

She chuckled and sat down. "I doubt it. I'm way too far gone for a turnaround."

Luke shook his head.

She ended up taking off her jacket and opening her bag. As Luke started to nibble at his food, she ate too.

They had breakfast together. Talked. Laughed.

Due to this, she arrived to work an hour and a half later than planned. Despite her late arrival, Lorelai still took a lunch break to check on Luke. She brought him items and sat with him for a few minutes before heading back to the inn.

That night, after leaving the Dragonfly, she stopped by her house and got more clothes. She was back at Luke's apartment by eight.

"Honey, I'm home!" Lorelai exclaimed upon stepping inside. She closed the door and went into the kitchen where Luke was standing. "Uh, excuse me, what do you think you're doing, Mister? Why are you up when you should be in the bed? And what smells so good in here?" she asked all in one breath. She approached the stove as he moved away, and she pulled the top off a roasting dish, discovering a baked chicken. Next to it was homemade Mac and cheese. And next to that were rolls.

She turned toward him, her mouth open in surprise. "You cooked?"

He shrugged and sat down in the kitchen chair with a tired sigh. "I cooked."

She shook her head as she went over to his drawer and took out a fork. She pointed it at him as she walked back to the stove. "Luke, what is wrong with you? When you're sick, you don't go around cooking _meals_. When you're sick, you zap a hot pocket or you eat cold Chinese or dry, stale cereal out of the box." She dipped her fork inside of the steaming Macaroni and brought it to her mouth where she blew on it briefly before eating the forkful. Luke smiled. After huffing and puffing for a few seconds due to the still high temperature, her hand dropped to the countertop, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she chewed. "Oohh my gah!" she said dramatically with a full mouth.

Luke smiled more, this time in amusement. "You like it?"

Again, Lorelai pointed the fork at him. "That's not the point." She turned and scooped up more. "The point is--" She ate the large bite, "--that you don't....oh _man alive _this is good..." She licked her lips savoringly. "...that you don't uh...uh. My _point is_," she said stressfully like that would help her memory, "...is that...damn, what is my point?"

That time Luke laughed out loud. "Glad you like it," he said.

Lorelai placed her fork on the stove and walked over to him. "What made you prepare all that stuff?"

"I wanted to say 'thank you'," he responded casually. Lorelai's eyes followed his as he stood up and pushed his chair away. "You've done a lot for me over the past couple days," he added. "So," he pointed at the stove, "thank you." He smiled a small smile then started toward his bedroom.

Lorelai's eyes fell at his rotate. She was left with the back of his t-shirt and then the top of his blue jeans, _coincidentally _his rump. He refused to just sit around in lounging clothes, so Lorelai didn't say much when he'd showered and put on everything except his flannel, blue cap, and boots earlier that day. She leaned forward and grabbed his wrist before he got too far away. Not being in a rush to yank him when he was still sick, she moved forward instead.

"Hey, Champ, I'm glad you're feeling good enough to do all this, but next time..." She paused with a smile as she looked up into his eyes. She still held his wrist. "...just _say _thank you." He sighed quietly and looked down. Lorelai's other hand went to his chest, gaining his attention again. "Or better yet, don't say 'thank you' because there's no need to. Just stay seated, lounged, relaxed and lazy, and let me do all the work. You just focus on getting better." They looked at one another. Both her hands stayed in place. "Got it?"

He smiled. "Relaxed and lazy," he repeated with a nod. "Got it."

She took her hands from his body, and her eyes floated down to his blue jeans. "And for god's sake man, blue jeans are strictly forbidden in the land of the lazy. Nothing that zips and buttons. Stretchable fabric only! Must I help you every step of the _way_?!"

He rolled his eyes. "Guess so," he mumbled before turning to walk away.

Lorelai's hand went to his back, and she rubbed lightly until he was out of reach. "Feel better?" she asked. "Nausea? Indigestion? Upset stomach? _Diiiarrheeeea_?" she asked, partly singing the song for Pepto Bismal.

He ignored her presentation. "No nausea. I'm a little hungry, actually. And...none of that other stuff you mentioned either," he finished uncomfortably. If he did have the runs, he seriously doubted that he'd share the news with Lorelai.

She unbuttoned her jacket and took it off. "Okay, dinner in five minutes. I want you over here at this table in comfortable pants with a plate of something--even if it's not this delicious stuff--in front of your face. Understand?"

Luke smirked from across the room. "Yes ma'am."

She nodded with satisfaction and set off to prepare the table for dinner.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai sat cross-legged at the head of Luke's bed. Luke had one leg bent and his other foot on the floor as he sat at the bottom across from her. They had cards laying between them.

"Wait, wait!" she exclaimed.

Luke laughed. "Nope." He put down another card, then another. Lorelai grabbed one of her cards quickly and beat him putting down the next.

"Aha!" she exclaimed. Unfortunately, she spent too much time dwelling on that small victory, and Luke laid down three more cards back-to-back. "Crap. Wait! Ha, got you! Luke, dammit, you're going too fast!" she exclaimed all in the course of five seconds.

He chuckled, focusing on his cards. "And what's the name of the game?"

She stuck her lip out.

They played _Speed_. They each held 5 cards in their hand, and looking at two face forward piles, they had to be the first to lay down the next card, be it a number below the one that showed or a number above it. Luke was fast to draw, fast to scope out the next card, and even faster at placing down ones in his hand.

They both paused, realizing that neither had any cards to lay down that would follow suit. They each placed a hand on their respective replacement deck.

"On the count of 3," Lorelai said. She was finally able to catch a breath and get her bearings after watching Luke's quick hands lay down cards left and right not giving her a chance.

He watched her. She watched him.

"Okay," he said.

She smiled. "Okay." She paused, glancing down at his hand which sat poised. He was ready to play the 5 cards he held. She met his eyes again. "One." He nodded. "Two." He started to nod, and she blurted out "three", flipped her card, and started making noises as if to distract him as she placed one card down followed by another as fast as her hands and eyes could work. Luke flipped his card and started dropping cards at lightening speed. He smiled broadly, not saying a word.

With a King of Spades on one of the piles, Lorelai grabbed an Ace of hearts at the same time that Luke grabbed a Queen of Diamonds. He slapped his card down about a half second before she did, and she dropped her card and hit his hand maniacally.

"Luuuuuke!" she whined and complained.

He laughed. He laughed while keeping his hand in place. He laughed showing teeth and everything. "My mind's a little foggy. What's the name of the game again?"

Graceful losing wasn't something Lorelai was familiar with.

She messed up the other cards on the bed as she slapped at his hand, wanting that one little play to go in her favor. He finished teasing her and stopped talking only to laugh some more. Feeling like an even bigger loser, Lorelai took her hits from his hands to his arms, then his chest before making a sudden leap for him since he only laughed more. He managed to avoid a full frontal attack, and she slid from the bed and ended up behind him with her arm around his neck.

She didn't even come close to choking him. But her arm was positioned in a way that suggested she could at a moment's notice.

"This is your final chance to take your hand away and take your stupid Queen back to your own stupid pile, Luke. What's it gonna be?"

Due to Lorelai's arm around his neck, he'd had no choice but to take his hand from the card as soon as she'd gotten behind him. So, he supposed she was looking for an agreement of some kind to _keep _his hand off should they return to the game. He chuckled now but was trying hard not to. He could even feel her knee in his back like she was really ready to do some damage. His hand rested on her arm that was looped around his neck.

"Is this how you treat the sick and feeble?" he asked playfully.

"Less talky, more card takey backy," she instructed.

He shook his head--as much as he could anyway. "Jeez, you are a _really _big sore loser, aren't y--" His air supply got cut short. Only for a second.

Lorelai bit her lip to keep from laughing. Because Luke was. In a way she'd never heard him laugh before.

He tried to look back at her but couldn't. "I can't believe you just choked me."

"I guess now you know I mean business."

He sighed and took a better hold on her arm. "Okay, enough of this," he said.

"Excuse m--aaaaahhhhh!" she screamed out as she was taken and easily flung across the bed, across Luke's legs. He got on his knees, pushing her thighs with his. And he placed his hands over her wrists, pinning her in place. He barely held her.

"Next time, try using your words, Killer," he calmly said to her. He rolled his eyes at her smiling face. "Crazy woman," he mumbled.

As he got ready to move away from her, Lorelai put a hand on the side of his chest and pushed him over. He just smiled. He didn't fight her. Otherwise, she would have never gotten him flat on his back while she pinned _him _down. He lay across the bed, his lower half hanging over the edge. Lorelai was on her knees beside his stomach.

Cards lay crumpled and forgotten beneath them both.

"I never lose, Luke."

He smirked, looking into her face which was leaned over his- about a foot away. "Is that right?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered, her face winding closer to his with attitude. "That's _right_." Her head movement brought her about four inches closer, and she didn't bother moving back. They were quiet for a moment as Luke lazily reached for her hands with his fingers like that was his only shot at freedom. Her hands were around his wrists. She looked up briefly to where he reached with his fingers. Returning attention back to his face, she moved her hands from his wrists to his palms. She linked her hands with his and held him that way.

"Next time listen to me, and you won't have to go through this torture," she said quietly.

He nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

They stared. In a bed, they stared. In a bed while _alone_, they stared.

Any one move by either could change the way the world rotated.

Three even knocks at the front door had them breaking eye contact. Luke made a move to sit up, and Lorelai took her weight from him. He slid to the edge of the bed as she rolled onto her bottom. She tucked her hair and glanced at him shyly before she brought her legs over the edge and slid to a standing position as well.

For seconds, they bumped one another in the tiny space they both seemed unwilling to leave.

Lorelai chuckled and stopped moving, placing her hand on Luke's shoulder. "You go there," she said pointing to the door. "I'll stand here."

He smiled. Nodded. It was after ten-thirty. Caesar and Lane had remained open a full day, so with the late hour, Luke already knew who was at the door. He went over and let Caesar inside with the diner's daily profit. They spoke for a moment, and afterwards, Luke saw him out.

Turning back to his bed, he didn't see Lorelai. But he heard the shower running.

He looked at the bathroom door for a moment before picking up the cards all over the bed and placing them back in the box.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai emerged from the bathroom in an outfit different from the one she'd worn the previous evening.

It was different in color. All pink. Length of the shorts and cut of the tank top were the exact same though. That's the first thing Luke noticed. He looked away from her and over at the wall as he sat in his bed. Like yesterday, she hadn't brought her housecoat in the bathroom with her, so there was definitely some exposure that it was hard as hell to look away from. But out of respect, he did that.

Lorelai had left the bathroom door open. Sweet, feminine fragrances hit Luke's nose seconds after she came out. Body washes and bubble beads were things that used to have him scratching his head. He was fine with bar soap and aftershave. He dealt with the simple. He soon realized that when given room and time to express itself, those body washes would capture the attention of the biggest cynic. The smell was undeniable. It made Luke breathe deeper, not even want to exhale. It was a smell that he missed. A smell that came with a woman.

Lorelai grabbed her long housecoat and slipped her arms through before walking over to Luke. She pinned her hair up with a clip, leaving all that the housecoat was made to hide _unhidden_.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

He looked from the TV, which now held his attention, up to her face. "Yeah. I'm f--"

"Enh enh enh," she interrupted with a wagging finger, rejecting the word that had lost all meaning to her.

He rolled his eyes. "Swell," he said instead. "I'm swell."

She chuckled as she lowered herself next to him on his bed. He moved over a little and gave her room. She brought her feet to the bed and flipped open a bottle of scented body lotion.

The housecoat was officially fired, Luke thought. It wasn't doing its job at all.

She spoke to a temporarily frozen Luke as she started running her lubricated hands up and down the length of her legs. "When you say swell, do you mean like...man swell?"

His eyes went to her face, and he frowned in confusion. "Man swell?"

"Yeah, you know, saying you feel okay when you really feel like you've been run over by one of those big roller trucks they use at construction sites."

"If I felt that way, I'd say that. I feel fine," he answered, watching her run lotion down to her feet and ankles. "Few aches in some places, but I'm good," he finished as he turned his eyes to the television. He'd seen way too much already.

"Sore?" she asked, still lotioning.

"Somewhat."

She nodded and took off her housecoat. She started doing her arms as they fell in silence. "Luke, I totally set you up back there. You didn't take the bait."

"What?"

She looked at him with a smile. "_Man swell_. Hello, dirty. Pay attention, Butch." She finished her upper body quickly and put her housecoat back on, setting the lotion bottle to the nightstand.

He rolled his eyes at the unappreciated reminder of his high school name. "Well, I'll try to catch the next one," he answered dryly.

"You think you're gonna get more? You obviously don't appreciate them. Waste not, want not."

"I _think _for this subject...we can make an exception," he said with sarcasm.

The back of her hand lightly tapped his chest. "Shush you."

He smiled.

Lorelai reached over and took the tube of muscle cream from the nightstand where she'd laid it the night before. "Ready for round two?"

"What?"

She held up the tube. "Round two. The sequel."

"Again?"

She laughed and stood up. "Well, you're in _pain _again, aren't you?" Dropping the cream to the bed, she took off her robe and tossed it near Luke's feet. She picked the cream back up and climbed onto the bed with her knees. She rested on the edge, knees together facing Luke. He just looked at her. She waved the cream. "You want me to?"

His eyes quickly scanned her. "You sure?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," she answered in amusement to his tone.

His expression didn't show much humor. His eyes, which generally remained so neutral started to turn bright blue as he looked at her.

Lorelai looked down, ran fingers through her hair, then looked back at him. She sighed. "Yeah, Luke, I'm sure," she answered again. She smiled slowly. "Now, get on your back."

He moved his bottom up on the bed so that he could lay down. He did that while still looking at her. "Shirt...off?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes moved down his body, then back to his face as she smiled. "Shirt off. You know the routine." He removed his shirt and lay down. Lorelai flipped the TV off then moved closer to him. "Distracting," she explained as he looked up at her.

"Okay."

She looked at his bare chest. "So...where are you hurting?"

He paused. "Pretty much everywhere."

She smiled. "Then, let's get to work." She turned to his nightstand, dropped the tube, and reached over to the far left picking up a jar of Sombra she'd placed there.

"What's that?"

She twisted the jar and smelled the citrusy product. "Works on muscle pains. Just like the other stuff."

He looked at it in her hand. "Easier to work with?" he asked.

"Exactly."

He nodded, relaxed, and watched Lorelai scoop some with her fingers before rubbing it between her palms. He closed his eyes. Within seconds, he was feeling her hands on his skin. She rubbed across his shoulder blades before taking attention lower to even tighter areas of his body. Both her hands wrapped around his bicep, and she massaged tenderly. Her eyes went to his closed ones. Several minutes had gone by. "Can you feel it working?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he answered, almost with disbelief. "I can, actually."

"Good." She removed her hands, still looking at his eyelids. "Okay, flip."

"Hm?" he asked in a state of relaxation.

She smiled. Something told her she was hearing that post-sex tone. Total sensuality. She touched his side. "Turn on your stomach. Let me do your back," she clarified.

He opened his eyes. "Really?"

She shrugged. "May as well, right?"

He didn't spend too much time questioning it. "Right," he answered with a shrug. "Thanks." He quickly turned around and rested his head on his folded arms. At her urging, he shifted more toward her. With a comfortable sigh, he closed his eyes again.

"Ready?"

He nodded. "I'm ready."

"Kay, here we go," she said quietly.

His eyes opened and he just looked calmly toward the bathroom as he felt Lorelai climb onto him. Her thighs, all of which was bare, hugged his lower back. She leaned her bottom against his. "You okay?" she asked more in a whisper that time.

He slid his eyes shut again. "Great," he replied in the same tone.

He soon felt her soft hands moving over him again. She lazily rubbed down his back, up his back, then back down. He felt her thighs separate more as her touches went to the sides of his lowermost back. She rubbed along that area, grazing the top of his jogging pants. Then her hands slid up.

"Let me know if you want me to go harder, okay? I can do it harder."

"Okay, I'll let you know. This is good for now," he answered.

"You sure?" Her hands went to his shoulders as she leaned over him a bit. He felt heat on his lower back. At the center of her spread legs.

Every nerve in his body was alerted. He tried his hardest to keep his breathing under control.

"Do it harder," he said.

She smiled. Leaned up a bit as she started to really dig her palms into him. She started in the middle of his back. When she went low, he moaned so loud. She got comfortable and spent minutes there. Had him moving involuntarily from the hard pressure which felt really good to his back. His lower body--where she massaged and a bit of his pelvis--moved into the bed and back out.

She eased up, then went up his back, leaning over him once again. Her hands went up to his arms and massaged them, her breasts now grazing his back.

"You're a moaner."

"What?" Luke asked.

She moved up his back a bit and got closer to his ear. "You moan. I love a moaner."

"I don't moan," he replied, his voice thick.

Lorelai's hands moved from his arms and down his sides, but she kept her body almost flat on his back. "Oh, _honey_. If someone hits the right spot, you moan better than any blues singer."

He paused. "And what about you?" he asked almost inaudibly. Lorelai smiled but didn't respond. She sat up straight. Hearing a click, Luke opened his eyes and found the room dark. "What happened to the lights?" he asked as if he didn't know.

"Power outage," Lorelai answered regrettably. "All over Stars Hollow. Whole town's covered in darkness."

Street lights shined into the apartment.

"That's too bad," Luke said.

"Really?"

"Just playing along."

She placed her hands on the bed around his chest, her southern gem directly against his back. "That implies that some kind of game is being played, right?"

He breathed quietly for a moment. "My mistake."

"You're forgiven."

He moved his hands flat on the mattress as if to lift himself. "Mind if I turn around?"

She smiled at his un-needed decorum. "Please," she whispered.

He groaned as he started to turn. Lorelai lifted herself ever so slightly. "Okay, I had to ask because things are a little--"

"Erect," Lorelai finished as she lowered herself back on his front.

He flushed. "Yeah...little bit."

She leaned toward him. "And you think that messes this up, how exactly?" she whispered. She touched her lips to his before lightly sucking on his bottom lip. "Are you up for this?" she asked in another whisper. Feeling Luke smile against her lips, she spoke again, a smile lighting her own face. "Well, I can see you're _up _for it. I meant, are you--"

"I'm fine," he interrupted.

She pulled back a little to look in his eyes. Her smile brightened. "Yeah, you kind of are," she said quietly.

He reached his hand up to her hair where he slid her clip out, making soft curls fall around her face and onto him. "Right back at you," he replied.

Her face moved back toward his. "Like it down?"

"Love it down."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Luke nodded. He gently held her cheek as their lips came together fully. They kept it PG for all of ten seconds. When a breath was needed, they took it and came back in with lips, tongue, and teeth. All the things that made a deep kiss a deep kiss. It was served much justice.

They lay there kissing for almost fifteen minutes. It started getting hot and heavy around minute three. Lorelai remained on top until minute seven, and by minute eight, she found herself under Luke, mumbling incoherently as he kissed and sucked her neck in all the right spots.

At minute seventeen, Lorelai's tank top was removed with care. Luke's tongue slid from her mouth, and he moved down her body until he was at her nipple. Lorelai hopped aboard the _Moano_rail and rode it to the end of its invisible track.

Luke licked the left, licked the right, sucked the right while squeezing the left, then suckled both with a gentle tongue.

His hair stood all over the place as Lorelai's hands moved about restlessly in his head.

He went lower.

Placed the tip of his tongue on her stomach and licked his way down to her belly button. Gripping her sides, he kissed her gently and sucked her small outtie.

Her legs spread automatically. He smiled up at her. But her eyes were shut. She panted now as her body winded. So sexy. Luke removed her shorts. His hand went up to her stomach, and her hand came over his. She wrapped her fingers around his as his tongue touched her already swollen clit.

Her body descended at the feeling, and he found his face buried in her even more. He didn't bother backing up.

He just decided to eat his way out.

Lorelai responded to his tongue. She started a rhythm with his tongue. And soon found herself praising his tongue as it brought her to orgasm.

He still sucked that sensitized love bump and had her squirming and trying to find her breath.

At thirty-three minutes in, Luke was bringing his mouth back up to hers. And they welcomed nirvana.

Luke soon joined Lorelai in nakedness. He rolled over and let her start the ride off on top at minute thirty-nine. Lorelai's shadow decorated the far wall, and gave it something to talk about as she rode Luke slow and easy. He held her sides, feeling her hips' fervid gyrations. Her shadow disappeared from the wall as she leaned down and met his mouth tongue first, kissing him deeply. Her moans met his. The kiss ended, and they remained forehead to forehead. They rocked up and down gently as he entered and exited her body. Mouths open and barely one centimeter apart, their breaths became one.

Her movements became languid when she got tired, and her hands went to the bed around him to try to keep up momentum.

They reversed positions at fifty-one minutes.

Lorelai cursed in the sweetest voice when Luke hit her spot.

She came at minute fifty-four. Luke slowed at the feeling, then started back when her walls stopped beating.

Passionate kisses took them past the hour mark.

Sixty-eight minutes found Luke on his knees and Lorelai curled on her side. He was below her bottom. He entered her and heard a sound of pure pleasure pass her lips. Spreading his knees wide, he winded his length into her. Her leg lifted a bit, and Luke lifted it more, shifting his body and his angle.

His erection hit the source of her pleasure head on.

Her face showed ten levels of ecstasy in an instant. Her voice got lost, and the moans were thrown on pause. She and Luke were sideways on the bed, almost across its width. She grasped the edge and pushed herself into him. The sensation proved to be incredible for her as she nearly knocked him off balance to get to the explosive end of the feeling.

She slowed to a stop, and her hand went down to Luke's stomach as he drove himself into her. Sounds came from her throat that she had no control over. At seventy-two minutes, the big bang took on a new meaning and became more than just a theory for her. Her right leg started twitching like it'd been possessed. Minute seventy-three and seventy-four got a little of that show as well.

She had come way too hard.

She held the sheets and the bed tightly in her hand as Luke was out of reach.

He got them back in missionary, and at seventy-nine minutes in, he came to release with a sexy grunt. This happened while Lorelai held his ass, feeling its movements. It happened while he and she kissed like they were trying to inspire a repeat performance. It happened while the last of the bed pillows fell to the floor.

They slowed the intense kiss down and pecked softly at lips and cheeks before just looking at one another.

"You rock. You freaking rock for that, Luke," Lorelai replied, with not much of a voice.

He smiled. "Ditto."

Her head dropped to the bed and hung partially off. "Tomorrow."

He paused. "Tomorrow what?"

She lifted her head and looked at him. "Tomorrow we're getting you a king sized. This bed is _dangerously _misleading."

He chuckled.

She lowered her head once again to the bed. Moved it left to right slowly. "You have no idea."

"Maybe that's the way I like it," he teased. His lips went to her exposed throat and he sucked her hot, moist skin. Lorelai moaned.

She gripped the back of his neck and closed her eyes, swallowing thickly. "Dangerously," she whispered one final time.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

It took another two days before Luke was back in the diner.

He didn't like the time spent away from work, but still he took the appropriate time and recuperated fully before stepping foot back in there.

For Caesar and Lane, it was bittersweet. The end of their wonderful tips was the _bitter _and the health and presence of Luke in the busy environment was very much the _sweet_.

As Luke wiped down the countertop, the bell jingled, and Lorelai came inside. She approached the counter and smiled.

"Hey. You're a sight for sore eyes." She gripped the edge of the countertop and leaned toward him. "Really sucky day. Kiss?" she said quietly. He met her lips and pulled away before she could really feel anything. She whimpered, still standing in place. "Luke, come on."

He pointed around at the customers and gave her a look that had her sitting down in disappointment.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked of her day.

She sighed. "Not really. Not now, at least." She looked at him with her bright eyes. "I _wanted _my kiss," she said pointedly.

"Lorelai, please." She rolled her eyes. He sighed. "Coffee?" he asked softly.

"Sure, whatever."

He looked around. "Okay. Let me go grab some filters." He pointed to the storage room. "Be right back." As soon as he turned to go, Lorelai slid off her stool and followed him. Luke was reaching up on a shelf when he heard the door click shut. He looked over and saw Lorelai standing against it. "What are you doing?" he asked. He stuck the filters on a nearby rack and approached her.

"Did I mention I was having a really sucky day?"

She reached out and grabbed his flannel, pulling him to her. Her back hit the door. Now out of the public's nosy eye, Luke no longer showed the shyness that had Lorelai reacting in ways such as this. He grasped one of her legs and pushed her skirt up her thighs. His hands ran along her legs as they kissed heatedly.

He felt Lorelai's hand drop down and grasp him through his jeans.

He pulled away from her lips. "We can't do this now; you know that."

Her breathing had reached the level that, in two days, Luke had found meant total arousal. Her eyes remained closed. "Really...really bad day, Luke," she whispered distractedly. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He now stood with both his hands on the door around her. Slowly, she pulled his zipper down and started kissing his jaw, his neck. Her knees bent slightly as she tried to descend.

He pulled her up. "Lorelai, it's mid-day, and outside this door is a diner packed with people."

She leaned on the door. "You don't want me?"

"I always want you," he answered without hesitating. His eyes scanned her. "Always." He shook his head. "And later..._oh my god_, LATER..." he said with intense exaggeration. She smiled. "...you will _see _how much," he said with even more intensity. "I can promise you that."

She looked down and zipped his pants back. "Okay," she said with calm. She rubbed at his chest. "I can wait," she said quietly while looking up at him. They stared for seconds, both starting to smile like smitten kids.

Luke moved in slowly to place a kiss on her lips, but before he could, she sneezed out of nowhere. Right in his face. He paused, his eyes closed. Sprays of saliva decorated his face. Lorelai's mouth fell open in shock. Then, she was laughing. Her hand went to his face, and she continued to laugh as she swiped downward. His eyes remained closed. He finally opened them when he heard Lorelai about to keel over from laughter.

"Glad you're amused," he said dryly as he wiped the rest of her spit from his face.

"I so did not know that was about to happen," she managed to say before leaning against Luke with more laughter.

"Not only did you spit in my face, but you're laughing abo--"

"_Achoo_!"

He paused and backed away some, looking at her suspiciously. "Bless you," he said in question.

"What?" she asked of his look.

He watched her wipe her nose with tissue. "You're sick," he said with squinted brows. "When did you get sick?"

"I'm not."

His eyes dropped down to her jacket pocket. "You had tissue in your pocket. _Crumpled _tissue." She shrugged and balled the tissue in her palm as she folded her arms. Her nose was now red.

"What's your point?"

"I said it. You're sick."

"_No_. I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

He rolled his eyes. "Bless you."

"What?" She turned away. "_Achoo_!"

"Go home."

"Excuse me?"

"Go home and get in the bed."

She laughed. "Funny, Luke. And if I do that, who's gonna look after the Dragonfly remodel?"

He shrugged. "Sookie will or Tom will or I will--whatever. Either way, you're going home."

"Please. I'm not going home and sitting all alone in the middle of the day. I don't think so." Lorelai looked down, turning frustrated. She knew she was getting sick. It had come quick and was tearing down her immune system like it was nothing.

Luke looked at her bowed head. "Fine. Then, go upstairs," he said.

She looked up. "What?"

He shrugged. "You don't wanna go home, then go upstairs. I'll take care of you from _here_."

She closed her eyes in a partial eye roll. "I'm not--"

"Yes you are," he refuted. "Whatever you're about to say, it's gonna fall flat, so just take your...beautiful ass up the stairs and get comfortable. I'm gonna nurse you back to health," he said as a way to make her smile.

She didn't.

"I don't need to be nursed back to health, Luke." She'd joked with him the other day about him taking care of her if she got sick, but she didn't expect to actually _be _in the position.

He sighed. "I'm gonna stay by your side the whole time, take your temperature, make sure you eat, play games just to keep you smiling, ask you repeatedly if you've taken your medication, etc, etc, etc. And I'm gonna _do _that because I care too damn much not to."

Lorelai's eyes went to the floor, and she chewed on the inside of her cheek. Slowly, she put focus back on Luke, and they stared at one another. She was falling for him so fast. And times like this was why it came as no surprise to her. She shook her head, still staring at him. "What..." She paused. "What about the rub downs, Luke? No rub downs, no deal," she said to him.

He smiled slowly. "Rub downs will be at the top of the list," he said softly.

She nodded. Shrugged. "Okay, then."

"So...you're staying here with me? We have a deal?"

She fought a smile and turned toward the door. "Whatever," she answered with indifference.

Luke pulled her back against him and moved his mouth to her cheek where he kissed her gently. "Guess I'll be handing over my grumpy person's thesaurus, huh?"

She smiled and stepped away from him, opening her eyes which had slid shut. "You just make sure you don't forget about me up here."

"Couldn't even if I wanted to."

"Good."

They went back into the diner, and Lorelai headed straight up the stairs. Luke watched her disappear. With a hand straightening his baseball cap, he went to find Lane. Looked like she and Caesar had another couple of days to rack up on tips. He gave her the news, shaking his head at the wide smile that came across her lips. After pouring one last cup of coffee for a customer, Luke headed upstairs to tend to his most cherished one of all.

**-The End-**

Hope you guys liked that!!

I enjoy writing these fics, but let's be honest, they're time-consuming like a **mother **haha. Just let me know you're still reading/ liking the postings every once in a while, and I'll be good to go!

A thousand xoxoxo's to those who review story after story...or even every 2 or 3 stories. If your name is in my mental rolodex, you're golden. Cause my memory's not the best unfortunately. I don't know how you guys do it, but I appreciate it so much!!! That group of people keep me writing when I feel like I just don't want to anymore. --sighs-- Luv u all! :)


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